The Chicago Bulls’ original copy of Michael Jordan’s $33 million contract — the most valuable single-season contract in NBA history — has hit the auction block.

The contract is signed by Jordan, himself, and initialed by him on each of its 24 pages. It’s also signed by Jerry Krause, former Bulls general manager, and Irwin Mandel, the man in charge of the Bulls’ finances. It also includes a two-page cover letter from Mandel to the NBA.

…The original estimate for the contract’s value by the company auctioning it, Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, was $30,000, but with a week remaining until the bidding closes next Thursday night, bidding has already topped $28,000.

“It’s hard to compare this to anything we’ve sold,” said Chris Ivy, the company’s director of sports auctions. “It’s Jordan, who is in a class by himself, and, to our knowledge, this is the only Jordan playing contract to ever surface.”

…The most valuable sports contract ever sold was Babe Ruth’s 1918, $5,000 Red Sox contract, which was sold in an auction earlier this month for $1.02 million.

Despite the winning bid surely surpassing this number, it’s still surprising that the appraisal of Jordan’s contract is only $30,000. Not only is MJ the most influential and arguably greatest basketball player of all-time, but the rarity of the item surely adds to its worth, too. Though Jordan might be the NBA’s closest thing to Babe Ruth, the value of basketball memorabilia still pales in comparison to that of its counterpart on the diamond.

Of far greater interest than the auction, however, is the reminder that Jordan earned $33 million for his final season with the Bulls, over nine million dollars more than Bryant will receive from the Lakers this season. Accounting for inflation, MJ’s salary would be approximately $48.3(!) million if it were in effect today, just $15 million less than the cap number 2014-2015.

But the late 1990s were a different time for the league, and Jordan’s retirement after winning his sixth championship in 1997-1998 was due in part to the inevitability of a lockout the following season. Indeed, the 1998-1999 season was reduced to 50 games before the playoffs and its All-Star weekend was cancelled entirely. Jordan’s ballooned 1997-1998 contract and the six-year, $126 million extension that Kevin Garnett signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves during the same season season are considered accelerants to the lockout fire.

Given hints of labor strife just three years removed from the 2011 work stoppage, it’s not hard to see why given MJ’s outsized salary. The cap in 1997-1998 was set at $26.9 million, according to RealGM.com. Jordan’s deal, obviously, surpassed that mark all by itself, setting the precedent for maximum contracts that has been in place ever since the 1999 lockout.

And when assessing the players’ gripes should the 2017 lockout come to surface, it’s pertinent for fans to remember the $33 million Jordan earned in 1997-1998. Would anyone argue that he was overpaid? Surely not – MJ was the NBA. And as the league continues to boom, there’s certainly an argument to be made that players the caliber and general worth of Bryant, James, and Kevin Durant deserve to be compensated more closely aligned with Jordan’s record-breaking final deal in Chicago.

Join The Discussion

It was unquestionably inline with his value if not a bargin. For certain stars their added salary should be paid just as shared revenue is dished out lol…these guys make the entire league money and draws not just Fans, but patrons how buy the jerseys, tickets, and the hype around the game…

LeBron is selling out appearances in China now…who is he representing…The Cavs…Heat…no the NBA and Nike.

I think a percentage of the salary should apply toward a hard cap and another portion for players that EARN the ‘Franchise Player’ designation (like the ‘Verified’ stamp in social media lol)…they should have the other portion of their contract picked up by the League.

Criteria for being deemed a Franchise player…Production (real stats and PER kinda numbers, not AP or fan base voting at all), Games played (you have to play not sit out with jammed fingers and other minor issues), and you can even add a caveat that the player has to be playing for the team that originally drafted him in order to truly be seen as a Franchise guy…these are guys that raise their teams to contending teams no matter the market.

07.24.14 at 9:49 pm

Rich

Please take in to account what he was making before that deal….nothing near what he was worth to the Bulls and the NBA on a whole. That $33mil was them making up for what the essentially owed him for what he did for the game on a worldwide basis.